Shattered
by Elusion
Summary: Short stories from Inuyasha's childhood. Story One: An Unsightly Child. Lost and alone, Inuyasha finds comfort in an unusual friendship with a blind woman.
1. Unsightly Child Part 1

Shattered

An Inuyasha Fanfic by Elusion

In the third Inuyasha movie, it appears that there was a hundred and fifty year gap between Inuyasha's birth and his sealing at the hand of Kikyo. I started wondering, what did Inuyasha do in all this time? And so, this was born. It's a series of short speculations, stories of his life before meeting Kikyo.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all characters therein belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Video.

Story One: An Unsightly Child

Part 1

- - -

A small flock of birds pecked away at the scattered rotten fruit at the bottom of a plum tree, glutting themselves on this treat. Hungry from their annual long flight, they ate eagerly, paying little attention to anything else. A quiet rustle in the nearby bushes caused several to look up, preparing for flight, but after a few moments of silence, the more immediate issue of the fruit drew their attention once more.

Suddenly an explosion of white and red came from the bushes, leaping upon them. Confused, the birds flight reaction was slowed, costing several of them their lives from the snarling fury ripping through them.

Inuyasha snatched at another bird, grabbing only feathers, and growled in irritation as he watched the rest of the flock fly away. He stared at the three carcasses on the ground, snatching them up and holding them close to his small body, as if afraid they'd be taken from him. Without hesitation, he ripped into the first, the still warm blood running over his hands and face. Part of him recoiled in disgust, but hunger kept his jaws moving, swallowing the chunk of raw meat.

His ears suddenly perked up as he heard footsteps. Clutching his food in one arm, he scrambled into the plum tree, peering down to see the one who approached.

A woman with a walking stick slowly came forward, walking very carefully and deliberately towards him. His first thought was that she was elderly, but as she came closer he saw that was not the case, for she looked to be middle aged at most. She paused, calling something he could not hear, before stumbling on her way. Suddenly he realized she was blind, her blank forward gaze and careful constant tapping with the stick she carried giving her away. He sighed in relief- he was unlikely to be noticed. He returned to chewing on his bird, but with less urgence than before. He watched the woman continue to tap and call, wondering idly what exactly a blind woman was doing alone. It suddenly occurred to him that she wasn't alone- but might be calling for a hidden companion. On the alert again, he watched her warily as she passed underneath him. Her stick landed on the soft flesh of a rotting plum and she stopped, waving her stick around until it hit the trunk of the tree with a soft thud. She smiled and sighed in relief, her features lightening slightly.

"The plum tree," she murmured. "At least I know where I am now. Now if I could only find Nana..." she trailed off. "I wonder if there are any plums left this season?" She set her stick down and ran her hands up the tree trunk, tracing it up to the lowest branch, and followed it. Inuyasha jerked his feet out of the way of her hands, causing him to lose his balance slightly. He grabbed the branch to steady himself, but one of the dead birds fell to the ground with a thump. He involuntarily gasped, and then realizing it, held his breath, afraid she might have heard.

"Who's there?" she said with a frown. Inuyasha was silent. She reached down and grabbed her stick, and poked wildly into the branches, catching Inuyasha's leg.

"Ow!" he exclaimed.

"A child?" she said in surprise. "Well, come down from there. Come on." She reached up again into the branches.

Inuyasha scrambled away in panic, suppressing a low growl. He looked at the woman- middle aged, on the heavy side, and blind to boot. He could escape her easily, but she was standing right over the dead bird he had dropped. Game was getting rarer, and he hadn't been able to catch anything for days. He was reluctant to leave the bird behind. They were small and he was hungry, and he knew two wouldn't be enough for him. He crouched for a moment, and then slid down the trunk.

"There we go. Now come here, child. Where did you come from?"

Inuyasha was silent. He walked slowly towards her, eying her nervously, glancing back down to the bird between her feet.

"Gimme back my bird," he finally growled, his voice surprising even himself. He hadn't spoken to anyone in a long time.

"What bird?" she asked blankly.

"By your feet," he growled again, impatience growing.

She leaned down and felt around with her hand until her fingers brushed against the feathers. She grabbed it, and stood again, holding it close.

"I'll give it to you, but I need to ask you a favor."

This surprised Inuyasha greatly. No one had asked him this before. "What?" he asked, out of slight curiosity.

"I've lost my goat, Nana, and my way as well. If you could help me find her, and show me the way back to my house, I'll give you your bird, and even cook it for you."

"No. Give it to me now." Inuyasha protested. He glared up at her, annoyed.

"Hmph. Don't be such a rude child. The goat will probably come home eventually, but at least help me back home, and I'll even make you some rice to go with it."

More food? He looked up at her suspiciously, but his stomach had already made up it's mind.

"I have two more birds. Will you cook them too?"

"You strike a hard bargain, don't you?" she asked, slightly amused. "Yes, I'll cook them too."

"If you're lying, I'll kill you," he warned her.

The woman roared with laughter.

"What a pest you are! What makes you think you could kill me anyways?"

"I killed those birds. With just my hands."

The woman fought a smile. "I think you'll find me a bit harder to kill than a bird."

Inuyasha was annoyed. "Not hardly. You're old and blind. I could tear you apart in minutes with my claws," he stated matter-of-factly.

"With your claws, eh?" she smirked, obviously believing it to be a game of his. "What is your name, you murderous child?"

He paused. "Inuyasha," he finally muttered.

She appeared thoughtful for a moment, her blank gaze set on him, making him uncomfortable.

"My name is Fumiko. Will you guide me home then?" she offered her hand.

He just stared at it. "My hands are bloody," he said.

"Then lead me with your voice." She dropped her hand, unfazed. "Now to the north of here you should be able to see smoke from my fire. Just lead me towards it..."

- - -

When they reached the house, they found the lost goat- standing outside its pen, bleating for its dinner. Fumiko laughed at herself for chasing after a goat who was headed back home, and fed Nana before heading inside to feed her small companion. Inuyasha was slightly impressed by the way she moved skillfully in her home, quickly plucking and cleaning the birds, preparing them for roasting. She set the rice to boil, and cut some vegetables of her own to cook, making what was once a few dead birds into a large and tasty meal. Inuyasha began to wonder to himself if she was actually blind, and to half believe she had tricked him, waiting for him to let his guard down so she could attack him. Maybe her eyes had simply transferred their sight to her hands, as she seemed to "see" everything she touched. He watched her warily, tense from suspicion and hunger.

When she plucked the bird that Inuyasha had attempted to eat raw, she felt the torn flesh in surprise, and frowned contemplatively. In silence she continued to cook, but looked troubled.

Inuyasha had almost forgotten the taste of cooked meat, and the smell of the roasting birds was driving him mad. He clenched his hands, the points of his claws digging into his palms. At long last, Fumiko sat back and declared the food to be done. He crouched in impatience as she scooped rice into a bowl, and placed it before him. She then lay out vegetables and the birds onto a serving plate. He grabbed a bird and began eating ferociously. Fumiko frowned, and saying nothing, only served herself.

As he finished the first, the sharp sting of hunger had been dulled slightly. He looked at the disapproving face Fumiko wore, and picked up the bowl of rice, looking a little guilty. She wordlessly proffered a pair of chopsticks. He stared at them, puzzled, for a moment, as if trying to remember what exactly they were. He gingerly took them from her, and fumbled with them. He looked back at her, and silently set them down, scooping the rice with his fingers instead.

"Where are you from, Inuyasha?"

He looked up in surprise at this question, but just chewed silently.

"Where are your parents?" she tried again.

Inuyasha swallowed. "Dead."

Fumiko was silent then, and returned to her vegetables and rice, leaving Inuyasha's birds alone.

"Where are you living then?" she asked after several moments of silence.

"The forest."

"By yourself?" she asked in surprise.

"I can take care of myself," Inuyasha growled.

"You tried to eat that bird raw," she said. "Were you that hungry? I don't think that's taking care of yourself very well."

He said nothing, but glared at her.

"Maybe I just wanted it raw," he pouted.

She laughed again, loudly. He grew angry, and set the now-empty bowl down loudly. He reached for another bird and ate it as messily as he had the other.

She sighed then, growing more serious.

"I'm alone here. My husband died of sickness many years ago, the same sickness that left me blind. My only son was killed six months ago, and shortly after, his wife, my daughter-in-law and last companion, died in childbirth. The babe was stillborn." Her sightless eyes grew moist with tears, grief in her face. She wiped her eyes and composed herself. "The point it, Inuyasha, I too cannot take care of myself well. I've been managing by myself so far, but today I saw that something as easy as looking in my backyard for my goat could end up in me lost, disoriented, and wandering within yards of my house without being able to find it," she turned her face up. "Inuyasha... would you like to stay here for a while? I just need someone with eyes- someone to help me, just a little." She laughed slightly, almost sadly. "Several people from the nearby village offered to help me after the death of my daughter-in-law, but I was too proud. I thought I could handle everything myself. And now I'm asking... no, begging, a child to help me. Please stay, Inuyasha, you could help me, and I think I could help you."

Inuyasha was confused by her pleading, unwilling to trust her. "No," he muttered. "I'm leaving," he stood, grabbing the last cooked bird.

"Wait!" she lifted her arm as if to stop him. Thinking she was trying to hit him, he lashed out in fear, his claws catching her arm. She cried out in pain, clutching her arm, and he froze, realizing what he had done. She felt the bleeding scratches on her arm, wincing as she ran her fingers along them.

"You really do have claws. You're a demon, aren't you?" she asked with a look of disbelief.

Inuyasha bolted. He ran from her house as fast as his small legs would go, clutching his bird tightly.

"Inuyasha, wait!" he heard her call, but her voice was growing fainter and fainter as he ran in fear back to the forest.

He only stopped when he felt the branches of familiar trees whipping past his face, scratching his skin and snagging on his clothes. Breathless he panted in the midst of the forest, eyes searching wildly for signs of danger, his fingers digging into the food he clutched, grease dripping down his arm. Knowing the smell would attract scavengers, he wolfed down the meat and headed towards the river to wash the scent from him. Twigs in his hair, blood and feathers on his clothes, his eyes wild and searching, he was a creature of the forest once more.

- - -


	2. Unsightly Child Part 2

Shattered

An Inuyasha Fanfic by Elusion

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all characters therein belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Video.

Story One: An Unsightly Child

Part 2

- - -

Snowflakes drifted silently down to tuck the earth into a blanket of white. Inuyasha watched their enchanting swirling patterns, and felt nothing except the wet chill of his damp clothes against his body. The fire-rat robes may have been fireproof, but they did nothing to guard against water, and he was soaked from being out in the snow.

Winter had come too quickly, and food was almost impossible to find. Cold and hungry, his mind drifted to happier times, times with his mother, before she had died. He was suddenly consumed by loneliness, and the longing of a child for his mother's arms. He began to cry, feeling helpless and vulnerable, lonely and afraid. For the first time in a long time, he felt like the child he was.

Holding his arms tightly, he got up and tried to bring feeling back into feet so cold they had gone numb. He trudged away through the snow, wiping tears from his face before they froze to his cheeks.

- - -

Fumiko sipped her tea, enjoying the warmth it brought to her hands and face as the steam rose from her cup. The place was quiet and empty, the only noise coming from the crackling of the fire in the center of her home. She placed a piece of firewood near the flames, pushing it in with a stick towards the depression in the floor, stopping when it dropped and she heard it hit the rest of the wood with the hiss of falling of ash. She rose, giving the flames a wide berth, and walked towards her door, pulling down her coat and taking her walking stick as she prepared to go outside. A cold gust of wind blew in snow as soon as she opened the door, the shock of cold causing her to shiver. She stepped outside and closed the door, quickly walking towards the nearby hut where she kept Nana. Her fingers touched the wall of her house, brushing off snow in lines as she felt her way along.

Nana bleated miserably as she walked into the small hut. She made soothing sounds, scratching the goat affectionately. She began to feed the animal, and then froze. She turned towards a corner of the hut, listening to the sound of shallow breathing.

"Who's there?" she asked, quelling the fear she felt rising in her. There was no response. She tentatively stepped towards the source of the breathing when she heard a childish whimper. She froze, and then rushed to the corner, kneeling down.

"Inuyasha?" she whispered as she touched him, gasping at the icy coldness of his skin. She hooked an arm beneath his shoulders and standing, pulled him up on her shoulder, and walked back to the house.

- - -

Inuyasha woke from dreams of the warmth of his mother's arms to the slightly less comfortable, but much more present warmth of blankets and a fire. He blinked slowly, his eyes focusing on his surroundings as his mind struggled to wake up. He blinked again, and then sat up quickly. He went blind for a moment, his body unprepared for the sudden movement after a long rest, and sat still in his dizziness until his vision cleared again. The light of the fire hurt his eyes until they adjusted, and he made out the feminine shadow near the flames. His heart jumped, remembering his dreams of his mother, but it quickly died as Fumiko turned, her sightless eyes gazing at him.

"You're awake," she said, without dropping her stare. Inuyasha didn't reply. She turned back towards the fire, and picked up a bowl of rice, setting it beside where she sat, on the side facing Inuyasha. He stared at it, the hunger he had forgotten about pinching his stomach once more.

Fumiko picked up her own chopsticks and with a whispered "itadakimasu," began to eat her own meal. She chewed slowly, listening, until she heard a quiet rustle of cloth and then the small sound of the ceramic bowl being lifted off the floor. She smiled to herself, and then swallowed.

"I'm afraid all this poor blind woman has to offer is some rice and pickled vegetables. I hope it's enough." There was no answering sound except Inuyasha's chewing. "Chew slowly and drink some water," she pointed towards a pitcher that held water for drinking "or else you'll make yourself sick, after going hungry so long. You were so light to carry I wondered if you'd eaten anything at all since we last met."

Inuyasha swallowed, looking down at the bowl. It was true, he hadn't found much else to eat in those few weeks. He managed to find some wild roots, caught a small hare, and found some shriveled vegetables that were tossed away at the edge of the village, deemed unworthy for human consumption by those much less hungry than the small hanyou. He was already considering the edibility of insects when the snows came, too cold and too soon.

Wandering, delirious from hunger and cold, he had found some shelter in the goat shed and stayed there, hoping the snow would stop falling and he could move on before the human owners found him and chased him away.

Had he recognized Nana, he probably would have taken his chances in the snow, rather than face Fumiko again. He had feared what the old woman would do - was her cry for him to come back simply a trick so she could trap him until she could reach the other villagers? Would she raise an alarm until they sent a party of "exterminators" to make rid of him? He, the half-demon monster.

But instead, the woman had brought him to her home, warmed and fed him, again. He had expected many things, but kindness hadn't been one of them.

He picked the last grains of rice from the bowl, and reached for more vegetables, clattering the plate. Fumiko it up, shaking her head.

"No more tonight. I told you, you'll make yourself sick."

Inuyasha growled, trying to scare her, but she just laughed. Frustrated and still hungry, he started to stand to try to snatch the plate, but the wooziness returned and he stumbled. Fumiko heard him fall, and frowned. She leaned over and felt for him, her hand finally alighting on his shoulder. Inuyasha was surprised at the gentleness of her touch as her hand lightly brushed up his neck as she felt towards his forehead. He had forgotten what human skin against his even felt like.

Fumiko frowned as she placed the back of her hand on Inuyasha's forehead, feeling the heat there.

"You have a fever."

"I'll be better soon," he mumbled. "I heal fast."

Fumiko pursed her lips, thinking. "That may be so, but you need to rest for now."

Inuyasha protested, but then didn't fight when she sternly repeated herself. With food in his belly again, he was beginning to get drowsy, and the blankets he had been wrapped in _had_ been pretty comfortable...

He curled back into his little makeshift bed, and soon fell back asleep.

Fumiko listened as his breathing steadied into the soft, familiar whisper of a sleeping child's. Her heart ached for memories of her son when he had been so small, and of the grandchild that never was. Drawn to the sound, she crept over to where Inuyasha lay, kneeling next to him. She unconsciously reached for him, her hand brushing lightly over his blankets until it found his face. She stroked the smooth skin of his cheek, and swept the hair from his face. She froze as she felt an unfamiliar furry object in the tangled hair. She slowly traced the shape of a dog's ear.

_Inuyasha. Dog demon._

It was true.

Her heart pounded slightly, as tales told in the village of humans slaughtered by youkai echoed in her head.

_Youkai or not, he's still just a child, _she thought, firmly. Suddenly the words Inuyasha spoke by the tree when they first met sprang unbidden to her mind. _You're old and blind. I could tear you apart in minutes with my claws_.

A slight shiver of fear went down her back. She absently rubbed Inuyasha's ear, and he turned slightly toward her, rustling the blankets.

"Kaa...san?" he mumbled quietly in his sleep. Fumiko's heart melted and even the slightest bit of fear disappeared when she heard him call for his mother in his sleep.

"Kaa-san?" he called again. "Whatsa hanyou... kaa-san?" He began tossing slightly, apparently upset by his fever dream. Fumiko leaned over him, shushing him as she stroked his hair and ears once more. He quieted, falling back into deep sleep.

Fumiko felt her eyes sting as tears began to form. This poor orphaned creature... a hanyou, a child of mixed descent, completely alone... his parents dead and himself left to wander the forest like a beast.

And like a wounded animal, he had crawled to her door in search of comfort in the form of food and shelter, and she had taken him in.

"My poor stray puppy," she whispered as she gently ran her fingertips over his sleeping face. "What will I do with you?"

--

End Part Two

I had really planned to finish this story in two parts, but I wrote some and really wanted to post it... so here this is. The next section will be the end of it, I think. Hope you enjoyed it. C&C is always loved.


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